135 vs 150% GEONA

[Tim Leighton]

Don (and anyone else w/ an opinion): Just ordered a Catalina 400 w/ the 150% geona option. Having second thoughts. We primarily sail on the Chesapeake Bay and we spend about 85% of our time cruising (vice daysailing). Winds here in the summer tend to be either fairly light or pretty strong (during a frontal passage or in vicinity of TS's). Since most of our sailing is getting from one place to another, in the lighter winds, we've always just motorsailed and expect to with the 400. On heavy wind days, we reef deep (I currently have a Hunter 31 w/ the TALL rig that needs a reef early). I recently switched from a 150 to a 135 and found that I rarely have to roll in the jib except in the heaviest of airs and I really believe we are sailing faster except in very light wind (were we are motoring anyway) since she is more on here feet w/ the smaller sail. Your thoughts on the subject would be appreciated. Still have time to change the order. Thanks.Tim L.

[Steve Dion]

Tim:Did you order the Cat with a tall rig?If you did not, you are going to need the larger sail. If you compare a Catalina to a Hunter rig you will see that the do not have as high a sail area to displacment ratio and typically a shorter mast too. Even with the tall rig you may need this extra sail. Hopefully you will get some opinion from a C'40 owner on the issue.We will be interested in your overall opinion of your new boat when comparing it to your sweet lil' Hunter.

[Jack Gilmour]

We sail lake Michigan. We chose a short rig 135 because it is more advantageous to be able to reduce sail when cruising than to add it. The minute advantage of a tall rig and 150 in light air is useless when it comes to covering distances. As you point out,that is the time for the engine.

[David Foster]

Our asymetric spinnaker is big enough to keep us off the iron genny in light air cruising. A sock means we can deploy it while the 110 is either furled or working on the headstay.The 110 is clearly the best sail for heavy weather with good shape down to a 20 percent furl.Just another idea.DavidLady Lillie

[Don Guillette]

Well, I can only tell you my preference on my Catalina 30 sailing in Long Beach. I had a 155, which just overpowered the boat, which I generally sail single handed. Actually, my wife is with me but she doesn't like to do anything. That is fine as I'm glad she is at least willing to go with me. Anyway, I sold the 155 to a ship mate on the Catalina list and purchased a 135, which I prefer for the type of sailing I do.

[MJ]

Tim,I too sail on the Chesapeake and I just moved from a 150 to a 135. I motor when it gets real light (getting an assym. next year)and when I need to reef, I get much better shape at 110. I actually like the performance better under normal wind conditions (10-20 kts)with the 135 as well. Thats my 2 pesos!

[Tim Leighton]

Thanks to everyone for your sage advice. Always get good "gouge" here. In any case we've decided to get the 135% geona with the boat and possibly purchase a cruising spinnaker at a later time for those occasional light air downwind sails. I'll let you guys know how the combination of a roller furling main and 135% geona works when we accept delivery late in Dec (OK, even I'm not stupid enough to be doing sea trials in mid-winter, so we'll all have to wait until March or so!!). Thanks again! Smooth Sailing.Tim Leighton

[Dave]

A lot of interesting comments on this subject were presented. One of the most important is balance. In general as the size of the headsail increases the center of effort of the sail is moved aft since a lot more sail area is further aft. This can drastically effect the balance of the boat. I too prefer a 130% headsail but I also prefer to switch to a 110 in heavier air. Reefing a roller furling headsail pretty much stnks, even with the foam luffs which I don't have. The problem is that as you reef the center of effort stays very high up increasing the heeling moment. So you end up reefing more than necessary to prevent excess heeling. I recently constructed an asymetrical cruising spinnaker and used it this past season, great sail up to about 11 knots then it gets wild, but in say 3 to 11 knots it is great. The sail is supposedly good up to 18 knots but manhandling the sucker to get it in shorthanded at that wind speed will be a real chore.You made a good choice.Dave

[Dean Kitchen]

I have a 95 Catalina 30 and I ordered it with a 155 genoa. I sailed that way for about four years. It is a tall rig and I was always overpowered. If I reduced enough sail to sail in windy conditions, I could no longer point as I lost sail shape. I had Kent Sail Loft make me a new 135 and I sail faster, flatter, and if things really get windy, I can furl down to a working jib and still have good enough sail shape to point. Definitely, I would go to the smaller head sail, especially if you have the tall rig. I sail on Lake Huron.